Refrigerant container



Dec". -15,l 1942. v. E. slssoN REFRIGERANT vCONTAINER 3' Sheets-Sheet 1 -Filed Dec. 8, 1938 Dec. 1,5, 1942. v.l E. sissoN REFRIGERANT CONTAINER Filed Dec. 8, 1938 5 sheetssneet 2 De. 15,- 1942. v.; E. slssoN REFRIQERANT CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed De. 8, 1938 Patented Dec. l5, i942 and REFRIGERAN T CONTAINER vVinton E. Ssson, Wnnetka, Ill., assigner -to Standard Railway Devices Company, a corpo-A Y' ration of Delaware Application December S, 1938, Serial No. 244,535V

6 Claims.

This invention -relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at a predetermined temperature. The essential features of such a car are an insulated structure and a refrigerating means for use in warm weather or a heating means for use in cold weather.

The invention relates particularly to refrigerator cars of the overhead bunker type. Cars of this type have the refrigerant containers suspended immediately below the roof. They are often vprovided with drip pans below the containers to form refrigerant compartments below the roof and adjacent the side walls of the car. It is also common to provide vertical iluesr associated with the side walls and extending'to near the floor. These ilues serve as passages for the flow of refrigerated air from the refrigerant compartment to below the floor racks of the car so that it may circulate upwardly through the lading. The ues also serve to drain off melted refrigerant when a foraminous or semi-foraminous container is used or condensation from the container when liquid-retaining tanks are used..

The principal object of the invention is vto prevent the surging and splashing of refrigerant within the containers due to service movements of the par. frigerator cars consists of a frozen liquid which melts upon absorbing heat from the lading. `In some types of cars all of the liquidris retained while in others, only a portion is retained and the remainder allowed to spill through a foraminous upper portion of the container. In either case,

the refrigerant usually comprises a mixture ofl The surging may cause liquid and even solidv refrigerant to splash out of the container upon' parts of the car not intended to `be moist. For example, the eiciency of the insulation could be greatly decreased by the presence of moisture therein. The deterioration of wood parts would be accelerated while metal parts would be rapidly corroded, particularly if the refrigerant contains salt. The liquid might evenfall upon the lading and cause damage thereto with a resultant iinancial loss. Another harmful effect would be the loss of refrigerant within the container with a consequent loss of refrigeration eiii'ciency.Y

Another harmful effect of surging of refrigerant, particularly in containers positioned near the roof of the car, is the rocking and swaying of thecar in a direction transverse to the direction of motionv of the car.

'Ille refrigerant usually used in re- CII mine whether the surging of lthe refrigerant is the cause or the result of thel swaying of the car but it is likely that-each contributes to the other.

Therefore, a retardation in the surging of the refrigerant would probably beaccompanied by `less swaying action. p

Railway cars are often subjected to sudden tainers occupy substantially all ofthe space im- It'is difficult t dte- 55 mediately below the roof. This is necessary to obtain the required amount of refrigerant capacity without unnecessarilyincreasing the height of the car. It is impractical, however, to build a car having the areaof the hatches as large as the'container area because suchan arrangement would greatly impair the insulation of the car and would resultin hatches too large to be conveniently'handled. Therefore, parts of the con'- tainers underhang those portions of the roof adjacentthe hatches. When refrigerant isgloadedI into the containers, it is usually placed first in the part of a container immediately under .the hatch and then pushed along the bottom of the container by a shovel, paddle, or similary instrument, to the marginal parts of thecontainer. It is an object of this invention, then, to provide baffles within the container to prevent surging of the refrigerant. It' is a further object to arrange said bales'so as'not to interfere with the loading of the refrigerant as heretofore described.

Another objectrof the invention is to provide means to keep the liquid level approximately equal in all sections of a container. It is desirable to evenly distribute the Vrefrigerant,v throughout the container soas to keep the refrigerating efficiency high. It is a further object to provide communication between the s ections to facilitate draining of liquid therefrom. Small openings in the above-mentioned bailles keep the liquid level constant on both sides thereof without materially decreasing the efficiency of the bailies in retar'ding surging of the refrigerentire ycontainer through only one drain,

It is another object of the invention to provide 'erant container I5.

some of said'bailes higher than others of said bailles, the bailles extending transversely of the car preferably being higher to further retard the surging of the refrigerant caused by the violent and sudden stopping and starting of the car.

Other advantages and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description by referring to the drawings in which:

Fig. l is a partial transverse section of a refrigerator car equipped with semi-foraminous refrigerant containers and embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a modied design.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of imperiorate liquid-retaining containers embodying modied forms of my invention.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the container shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 7 to 12 inclusive are diagrammatic plan views of modified designs.

The usual parts of a refrigerator car are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, such as, side plate 2, side sheathing 3, roof 4, running board 5, ceiling 6, hatch frame 1 surrounding the hatch 8, center duct wall 9, drip pan I0, side lining II, false wall I2 providing the ue I3, insulation I4, and refrig- The refrigerant container I is shown having a foraminous upper portion I6 and an imperforate lower portion I1. The container I5 comprises a bottom I8 and substantially vertical end walls I9 and side walls 20.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the container I5 is provided with a plurality of bafes which extend longitudinally of the car or parallel with the side walls 20 of the container I5 to retard surging of the refrigerant laterally of the car. A baflle 26 extends transversely of the car or parallel with the end walls I9 of the container I5 to retard surging longitudinally of the car. The baffles 25, 26 preferably extend from the bottom I8 of the container I5 upwardly substantially to the lower edge of the foraminous portion I6 and may be, although not necessarily are, provided with openings, such as, at 21 or 28, near the bottom I8 of the container l5. The bailies 25, 26 may be spaced above the bottom IB of the container I5 to provide communication between various sections of the container.

Fig. 3 shows a refrigerator car equipped with an imperforate tank 30 designed for complete retention of liquid refrigerant. The transversely extending baille 33 has increased height because the longitudinal movement of the car, i. e., the sudden starting and stopping, are likely to be more severe than the lateral swaying of the car.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a tank similar to the imperforate tank 30 of Fig. 3. The dotted line 35 represents the lowermost edge of the hatch frame, i. e., the edge 36 in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 illustrates a design in which the baiiles 31 extend from the bottom I8 of the tank 30 substantially to the lower edge 35 of the hatch frame. The baiiles 31 are notched under the hatch to provide depressed portions 38 which facilitate the loading of refrigerant through the hatch opening 35 to the remote ends of the tank 30.

Fig. 5 shows a tank 30 similar to that shown in Fig. 4 wherein the dotted line 35 also indicates the lower edge of the hatch frame. The baffle 42 is shown notched, the notch extending to the bottom of the tank 30 to provide a communicating channel 43 between the sections o the tank 30 formed by the baffle 42.

longitudinal baffle 55 and Fig. 8 shows the container I5 having three longitudinal baffles 56, each having one transverse baille 51. In each case, the container is divided into a plurality of sections 5I), each section having a portion underlying the hatch opening 35. The number of longitudinal baffles required is largely a matter of personal opinion, depending upon other features of the car design, the type of service in which the car is to be used, and other factors.

In some cases, it may be preferable not to provide a transverse baille as shown in Fig. 9. Any number of longitudinal baiiies may be provided, but only one (5D) is shown. The baffle 6i) divides the container I 5 into two sections 55, either of which may be conveniently loaded through the hatch.

Fig. 10 illustrates an arrangement in which a plurality of bales extend radially from a point under the hatch 35. Some of the baffles 66 are shown parallel with the side walls 20 of the container I5, some (61) parallel with the end walls I 9, and others (68) extending diagonally between corners of the container.V The invention is not limited by the convention shown but includes any arrangement in which the point 65 is under the hatch 35 and has the bailles extending radially therefrom so that a portion of each section 55 formed by the baffles underlies the hatch.

Fig. 11 shows three longitudinally extending bales 10 which divide the container I5 in four sections 50, each having a portion underlying the hatch 35.

In Fig. 12, the container I5 is provided with two longitudinal bailles 15 and two transverse baffles 16 which divide the container I5 into a plurality of sections, each section having a portion underlying the hatch 35.

It is apparent that a large number of modied forms of my invention could be developed. The type 0f car, the service in which it is used, the type of refrigerant used, and many other factors may necessitate changes in design beyond the modifications shown herein. My invention includes any arrangement cf substantially vertical baille plates within the container positioned to permit easy loading of refrigerant to al1 parts of the container.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said hatch, said container comprising a bottom and upstanding walls, a substantially vertical baille within said container to retard surging of a refrigerant in said container due to service move- Aments of the ,cansaid baille extending substantially to the top of said container and being notched adjacent said hatch to facilitate loading, said baille dividing said container into a plurality of sections, each section having a portion underlying said hatch.

2. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said hatch, said container comprising a bottom and upstanding walls, substantially vertical baffle means positioned within said container, other substantially vertical baille means arranged in angular relation with the first mentioned baille means, said baille means all cooperating to divide the interior of the container into a plurality of sections each having a portion underlying said hatch to provide a passage for loading refrigerant through said hatch into each section, said baffle means extending upwardly to the top of said walls adjacent thereto and being reduced in height below said hatch to facilitate loading.

3. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said hatch, said container comprising a bottom and upstanding side and end walls, substantially vertical baille means positioned within said container and other substantially vertical baille means positioned within said container arranged in angular relation to said first mentioned baille means, said bailling means all cooperating to divide the interior of the container into a plurality of sections each having a portion underlying said hatch to provide a passage for loadingr refrigerant through said hatch into each section, the upper edges of said baffling means being notched below said hatch `to increase the size of said passages.

4. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a.k hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said hatch, said container comprising albottomV and upstanding side and end walls, substantially vertical baille means positioned within said container parallel with the side walls of the container Vand other substantially vertica1 baffle means positioned within said container parallel with the end walls of the container extending to a greater height above the bottom of the container than said first mentioned baille means, said bailling means all cooperating to divide the interior of the container into a plurality of sections each having a portion underlying said hatch to provide a passage forv loading refrigerant through said hatch into each section.

5. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said hatch, said container comprising a bottom and Vupstanding walls and a substantially vertical baiile extending between opposite walls of the container so as to brace said walls and positioned below said hatch so that the portion of the container on either side of said baille may be loaded through said hatch, said baille being notched below said hatch to facilitate such loading.

6. In a refrigerator car having a roof provided with a hatch and a refrigerant container below said roof and positioned to be loaded through said v hatch, said container comprising a bottom and upstanding walls, and substantially vertical bafiles extending from opposite walls of the container and merging into the bottom of the container so as to brace said Walls and positioned below said hatch so that the portion of the container on either side of said baille may be loaded through said hatch.

VINTON E. SISSON. 

